Do you LOVE color? Here’s some -extra colorful- Art Journaling inspiration

It’s my birthday, so I wanted to come here and share some inspiration with you! My mission today is to fill the world with color! This time I want to show you something that always feels a little more personal and that is my art journal. I thought the creative process behind this spread could encourage you and that is why I decided to create a post about it.

The Creative Process behind these Pages

This art journal spread started with a simple floral sketch in pencil, that later became a stamp set (see it here) I didn’t want to cover the original sketch, so I decided to draw something around it… That’s when this beautiful girl was born… She wasn’t this pretty at all when it all started and even after several layers of texture and color, she didn’t feel complete to me. I was this close to cover the entire thing with gesso… I just wasn’t feeling it. Actually, I ended up feeling exhausted, so I left it there. Nevertheless, I couldn’t forget about it.

For the last couple of days, every time I walked by my art journal, I felt compelled to open it and work on this spread. I have very limited time so all I did was add details here and there, correct color and so on. Finally, yesterday these pages felt complete to me and they made my heart happy. It felt like a birthday present and it also felt meaningful. Inspiration has great timing, let me tell ya!

So what I want to leave you with today is the following: Have a little faith in yourself. Don’t give up on your art so soon. Come back to it until you’re happy. There’s beauty in the details and details can’t be added to a piece in a minute… It might just take a bit more… If you like this spread, think about how it could have not existed had I covered it with gesso… These pages challenged my faith and patience, but in the end it turned out even better than what I had envisioned.

Some Techniques used on this Art Journaling Spread

The reality is, that all of the colors you see here were layered and then layered some more. The one thing I tried to keep as clean as possible was the girl’s face, which was watercolored with Aquapastels. Other than that, it is all a colorful chaos. The illustration is quite loose and sketchy and that gave me the space to play more with color and media.

Something you don’t get to see quite well through the pictures is that a great part of the page was covered with White Pearl Modeling Paste, which gave a metallic undertone to further paint and ink layers and also made the page sturdier for me to keep adding more layers. This paste will resist watercolors or water based media, so I used paint for the most part to complete the areas were I applied it.

The stenciled corners are actually pockets! When I art journal I always keep my scrap bin nearby and I tend to always grab something from there. This time I used a monoprinted card background (for which you can find a tutorial here) and a floral SVG cut. I ripped the background and adhered them on the corners of both pages to create pockets… They ended up framing the spread beautifully. Then the svg cut ended up embellishing the Sweet William flower on my girl’s hair.

The end result feels like water or the sky… Just so colorful, happy and full of texture. The words I wrote go so well with these pages and were what I had in my heart at the moment of finishing this piece.

Main Supplies:
Strathmore Mixed Media Journal
Faber Castell Eco Grip Pencil
Pigma Graphic 1
Jane Davenport Aquapastels
Sharpie Paint Markers (peach, white)
Isofit Oil Paint Marker in Silver
Distress Paints (Lucky Clover)
Distress Oxide Ink (Seedless Preserves)
TCW782 Floral Eclipse stencil
TCW9030 White Pearl Modeling Paste
TCW9017 Lemon Custard Heavy Body Paint
TCW9016 Spun Sugar Heavy Body Paint
ICraft Mixed Media Adhesive by Therm O Web
Wild Rose SVG cut from Anna’s Elegant Embellishments 2
Cricut Explore Air 2
White Cardstock
For the corner pockets:
Tempera Paints (Hot Pink, Deep Blue, Purple and White)
TCW643 Infinite Lace stencil
Gel Press Printing Plate
Small Brayer
White Cardstock

Thanks so much for stopping by the blog on my birthday! I hope this project and the process behind it inspires you to create beautiful things. Be encouraged and stay creative! Until next time.

Sharing with: SSS Monday Challenge – All Things Bright and Beautiful